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February 20, 2008 - 9:59AM
Dial teams with ASU on impact of products
Donna Hogan, Tribune
Scottsdale-based Dial Corp. wants to make its products as environmentally friendly as possible, so the company has teamed up with the Arizona State University's Global Institute of Sustainability to figure out how to do it.
"Our products are designed to treat, clean and protect surfaces," said Richard Theiler, Dial's senior vice president for research and development. "It's important for us to understand the impact of these products for an entire life cycle."
That cycle includes everything from the raw materials and manufacturing to distribution and how the products are used and eventually disposed of by the consumer.
Dial parent Henkel keeps its own sustainability report card and wants ASU to help it find ways to make products even more responsive to environmental concerns, he said. While the manufacturing process is of concern, most of the major impact happens in the home, Theiler said, including the product residue that washes down the drain.
The products Dial makes, including soaps, detergents and household cleaners, come into contact with most of the water used in the home, and 27 percent of the energy used - for example, by dishwashers and washing machines, Theiler said.
ASU's sustainability program is on the cutting edge of environmental impact research, he said, so the company chose to fund the three-year study.
Henkel spokeswoman Natalie Violi would not say how much the company is kicking in. Jay Golden, director of ASU's National Center of Excellence at the Global Institute of Sustainability, said the Henkel program and others ASU is undertaking try to determine the impact of products and procedures, educate businesses and consumers and cause "transformative, not just incremental change."
"There is no way we can sustain ourselves based on the way we now live," Golden said. "There aren't enough raw materials." The group seeks "practical solutions based on sound science and strong engineering," he said.
Getting global manufacturers like Henkel to participate is critical to making major changes in attitude and action, he said.
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